Friday, March 27, 2009

Sick germs love my family. We seem to be constantly being hit with colds this winter. I am nursing and refuse to take medication for my illnesses (plus decongestants can dry up my milk). My children are too young for most over the counter medications so we have turned to alternative methods of treating our sniffles and coughs.

My favorite is a cup of hot tea and honey. Sometimes, I just warm a cup of plain water with lemon and honey and that does wonders for soothing a sore throat. Gargling with salt water is icky but effective as well. I have recently started using a saline solution that I run through my sinuses. I use a gigantic syringe, but I've heard of Netti pots that do the same thing. The saline up the nose is amazing! I couldn't believe how much it helped and how much better I felt. I also overdose on vitamin C and echinacea when I feel a cold coming on. Today I had over 2000% of the daily recommended value of vitamin C and it's the first time in a week that I've felt like a living person. Thank you Odwalla!

My kids have started using a product called Sinupret for kids and I've found that while it doesn't prevent a cold, it does shorten the length of the cold and the severity of it. When combined with Emergen-C, we can knock out a cold fairly quickly with no significant interruption of our normal daily activities. They also like warm water and snuggles on the couch.

I love water. Water in all forms. Especially in steam while I'm sick. I've been known to lay on the floor of the shower and let the water fill the bathroom with steam and just marinate there. The steam helps loosen the congestion and relax my achy muscles when I have a fever. Drinking plain water is the easiest natural remedy for a lot of ailments. It helps flush toxins from your body and keeping hydrated is so important for everyone at all ages.

Chamomile is a wonderful tea for soothing nausea and upset stomachs. Lavender is relaxing for the mind and body. Ginger is great in several forms for soothing nausea. You can find it in sucker form, tea, candied, etc. Zinc helps reduce the length of colds as well. Zinc is found naturally in pumpkin seeds, beef, salmon, and potatoes. Mint teas are great for helping a cold or viral infection flush out of your system. Keeping things moving is key.

I hope everyone is keeping cozy warm and hopefully haven't been suffering from too many colds or the flu.